Aquarium nice!
Good items But expansive
Everything at the gift shop is expensive. Still, it's fun to walk through and see what they have new from time to time.
Just for kids I believe
The aquarium is not worth the price. The most interesting part is the stingray touch pool (we didn't see a single shark), while the rest of the aquarium was subpar. The penguins were interesting to see, but there wasn't much to that either. These are the two main draws that may justify bringing a child to visit.
The central spiral tank is alright, which is what the entire aquarium is built around, but it is not constructed to facilitate viewing (at least not well). All of the other tanks were too small for most of the fish, with many of them just treading water or forced to swim in a circle.
My first reasonable aquarium viewing was at the Minnesota Zoo, which easily beats this aquarium in quality though not in quantity. Underwater World at Mall of America (also in MN) easily beats this aquarium. It is odd that aquariums in the Midwest can easily beat the quality of an aquarium 20 feet from the ocean. Skip the New England Aquarium and save your money.